IA: Clan Bracchus - Tragedy Strike! Rebuilding Begins.

[Ravenfeld]

EDIT:

 

Okay!

 

I am back in the zone and ready to rebuild
but first I need help, if any of you that read the last rendition of my
article have any specific memories of what you liked or didn't like
about it (the more specifics the better) then please PM me what you
remember. I want the new article to be as accurate as possible to what I
had before the crash!

 

Help me bring it back!

Thanks in advance,

Raven

 

PS: I will likely start a fresh thread for the new article, as a lot of the posts in this one are for a very very old version and may confuse new readers.

 

-----------------------------

-- Disclaimer: This is a work in progress, there will be spelling and grammatical errors, so please do feel free to point them out as you see them! Also, I tend to write when I am tired, so if some things are incoherent I will find them and fix them! Thank you!

Iron Hands Information
Iron Hands History
-- For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Iron Hands chapter but wish to have a decent foundation before reading further, I give you the above links.

Iron Hands Codex
-- A community based project to give the 10th legion their own Codex, spear headed by our very own Bannus.

Clan Bracchus Models
-- Painted by Davey for me, here is what has been made for Clan Bracchus to date, more in the future.

 

[Ravenfeld]

Reserved for "Heroes of Bracchus"

 

Clan Primus - The Venerable Godric, The Unforgiving, Pillar of Iron [iron Commander]

Keeper of Keys - Lord Volmont, Master of One Thousand Paths, [Chief Librarian]

Keeper of the Gate - Lord Boredin, Bulwark of Golgoth, Hand of the Primus, [iron Commander]

Keeper of the Spire - Lord Riga, Herald of Might, Blessed of the Sun, Master of the Smoldering Gift, [iron Father]

Keeper of Kin - Lord Dartin, Protector of Sanctity, Scion of Purity, [Chief Apothecary]

 

Strike Commander - Varros, The Black Blade, Tactical Commander [Warleader]

Strike Commander - Bregg, Sky Hammer, Specialist Commander [Warleader]

Forge Lord - Khaterga, Lord Artificer [Master of the Forge]

Key Warden - Dirn, Lord Interrogater, Master of Truth [Librarian]

Key Warden - Kastur, Lord Astronomer, Master of Visions [Librarian]

Apothecary - Hernol, Senior Apothecary, Savior of Golgoth

Apothecary - Stryr, Junior Apothecary, Hand of Mercy

Clan Champion - Gorant, Herald of the Spire, Scourge of Impurity [Veteran Sergeant]

 

Herald of the Clan -

Spear of the Primus -

Spear of the Primus -

Spear of the Primus -

Spear of the Primus -

Hammersmith -

Hammersmith -

Hammersmith -

 

Veteran Sergeant -

Veteran Sergeant -

Veteran Sergeant -

Veteran Sergeant -

Veteran Sergeant -

Veteran Sergeant -

[Ravenfeld]

Updated with a new origin story! Mind you I haven't done a grammar or spelling sweep yet! Please do let me know what you all think!

[BassWave]

Interesting. For my IA I was just going to give a brief history of before and after the Horus Heresy, but you went ALL the way back to the beginning. I am liking this, and will probably have to follow suit if we are going to stay in continuity :tu: Great work, can't wait for the next bit ;)

[CantonWC]

Hmm, I like it. Would like to see more.

[Ravenfeld]

Interesting. For my IA I was just going to give a brief history of before and after the Horus Heresy, but you went ALL the way back to the beginning. I am liking this, and will probably have to follow suit if we are going to stay in continuity ^_^ Great work, can't wait for the next bit :)

 

I figure we already know what happened to the Iron Hands during the Horus Heresy as a Chapter, so why would the events of any single clan be greatly different? The clans of the Iron Hands suffered a tremendous blow with the death of Ferrus Manus and the loss of their first company on Istvan V and they collectively became introverted and withdrew from the fighting to lick their wounds essentially. This is what sent them down the path of abhoring weakness (in the extreme, anyway). In the end the only things I could touch upon are perhaps some clan acheivements during the great crusade, but I would probably touch on that in the "Heroes of Bracchus" segment instead of in the already long-winded origin sections. My original post was more focused on how the clan interacted with Ferrus and less on the Clan itself, so I figured leaving the origin hanging at the arrival of the Primarch was a safe bet. We know that the arrival of Manus was prophesized by Bracchus himself, and that the clan is to embrace whatever the vessel holds completely. This naturally means they immediately swear fealty to Ferrus once they discover his origins and that, in turn, sends them down the path of becoming part of the X Legion and joining their leige lord in the great crusade.

 

Its funny but it just hit me last night, the story that is. I was mulling over how I could make my clan unique, and then I was wondering how people came to colonize far off planets like Medusa, which is tectonically super-active and not a good place for colonization. I am more than happy with my decision and the outcome and I am very glad you enjoyed it too!

 

Thanks for reading it Bass!

 

Hmm, I like it. Would like to see more.

 

I am glad you enjoyed it Canton! Don't worry, I intend to try and get a section done every work day this week, so hopefully I can keep up my momentum! But tell me, do you feel there is anything that can be improved upon, or anything you enjoyed specifically?

 

Thanks for reading!

[BassWave]

I figure we already know what happened to the Iron Hands during the Horus Heresy as a Chapter, so why would the events of any single clan be greatly different?

 

If you think about it, there's really not that much info on the Iron Hands during the heresy. Aside from Istvaan, Mannus getting his head chopped off, and a fleeting mention of participating in the largest tank battle ever recorded against the Iron Warriors, that is pretty much it. I mean if the rumours are true, Black library is not even going to bother giving the Iron Hands a HH book :D So I was just planning on just playing around with what could have happened at that time. If you still wanted to collaberate, we could expand on their fluff during pre-heresy/heresy. It would just be fan fluff, but it would go great with our codex ;)

[Ravenfeld]

If you think about it, there's really not that much info on the Iron Hands during the heresy. Aside from Istvaan, Mannus getting his head chopped off, and a fleeting mention of participating in the largest tank battle ever recorded against the Iron Warriors, that is pretty much it. I mean if the rumors are true, Black library is not even going to bother giving the Iron Hands a HH book :P So I was just planning on just playing around with what could have happened at that time. If you still wanted to collaborate, we could expand on their fluff during pre-heresy/heresy. It would just be fan fluff, but it would go great with our codex ;)

 

You're right, there isn't. I was always under the impression that the Iron Hands weren't in a condition to contribute much effort to the battles of the Horus Heresy due to their losses, but then the Battle of Tallarn makes it sound like they committed vast volumes of armored support against the Iron Warriors. I suppose it would be plausible for them to have taken part in other battles scattered throughout Imperial Space during the Heresy as well. As I said I will probably touch on some of these topics in my "Heroes of Bracchus" segment. That is where I intend to detail various champions of the clan, both current and past, as well as some of the major engagements that the clan has been involved in!

 

As for the Black Library not making a HH book for the Iron Hands, I find that not only to be disappointing in the fullest, but also kind of lame of the part of BL. I mean why claim that you will have a book for each founding chapter and then omit one? Its like adding salt to the wounds of all the IH fans out there since we are already without much fluff as it stands. I seriously hope they change their mind, even if it is the last book they write in the series!

 

I am definitely down for collaboration on every level. I know I wanna touch on some battles during the Great Crusade, we can work on some stuff during the Horus Heresy and even develop some ideas for events that have taken place in the last 10,000 years to flesh out the Iron Hands history a little. All of these things and more! I am looking forward to it, we just need to get Ferrum on board, and perhaps get some insight from Bannus, Spartan and any other IH fans on the board and we will be in business!

[Darrell]

I like the concept of taking an Index Astartes article and breaking it down to focus on a specific Company within a Chapter. It allows you to get more specific about events that have to be glanced over with an IA, like characters and battles, and there's a bit more room for narrative. So, I applaud you for trying this direction.

 

However, at the moment I find the article very much bogged down and top-heavy. I get the feeling there's not really a set structure in your head yet, and it's just you typing the thoughts as they come. It also reads much more like a story than an article and, while certainly this style does allow more room for story, the informative part is suffering. In fact, I don't really see much information beyond the sidebar discussing the Keepers. I would suggest trimming down a lot of what you have now, as a lot of it is either unnecessary or is repetitive. For instance, this is the opening paragraph of your Clan Origins:

 

+++Segmentum Obscurus+++

+++Unknown Sub-sector+++

+Colonizing Frigate Beneficium+

 

++ In the vastness of space, the cold emptiness lays still and abandoned. Below, the desolate planet that would one day be known as Medusa rotates blissfully, giving no sign of what occurred on her surface just moments ago. The serenity is broken as a transmission breaks through the planet's atmosphere, "This is Captain Jacobo Durand of the Beneficium, we were thrown from the immaterium after being struck by a sudden warp storm, our engines were wrecked and the planets gravity has pulled us down. Over half the crew are dead and the majority of our supplies were scattered or destroyed on impact. This is a distress signal, if anyone is out there please help us!" This message was the stranded crew's last hope for deliverance from the harsh planet's grasp; the message was never received.

 

I would suggest cutting it out entirely, as the following paragraph goes into the ship crashing and whatnot. The previous section, detailing the Iron Hands, already sets the Grimdark mood what with Astartes sawing off their limbs and replacing them with shiny bits. Also, the last two paragraphs of the Post Heresy section could be trimmed and combined as they are only slightly different from each other.

 

The beginning portion of the article is very slow, and while I understand that you want to give background for the mortals who would become Astartes, it leaves me waiting for the Clan to actually show up. I was also surprised to see just how much time you spent on the Pre-Primarch world, but the Post-Primarch and Heresy was basically summed up in three paragraphs. Those events are huge; in the first case, their years of waiting are justified and in the latter case you have them essentially being abandoned again. I can understand your opinion that we know how the Iron Hands dealt with the Heresy and whatnot, but we don't know how Clan Bracchus handled it. Chapters are rarely of one mind and even Astartes within the same Company can have different opinions. Events such as these are a way to highlight how Clan Bracchus differs from the rest of the Iron Hands.

 

The core of the article is going to be Clan Bracchus in the context of their Chapter, so I recommend writing that next. It will be easier to see where you're going with them, and then you can give them a bit of background accordingly. Right now, I count the article as being 2,763 words long and only about 223 of that actually starts to get into the Clan. Again, I strongly suggest talking about their position with the Iron Hands first (as a rough draft) and then you can weave it into an article with appropriate context. I think that will do a lot to get you going in the right direction.

[Ravenfeld]

I like the concept of taking an Index Astartes article and breaking it down to focus on a specific Company within a Chapter. It allows you to get more specific about events that have to be glanced over with an IA, like characters and battles, and there's a bit more room for narrative. So, I applaud you for trying this direction.

 

However, at the moment I find the article very much bogged down and top-heavy. I get the feeling there's not really a set structure in your head yet, and it's just you typing the thoughts as they come. It also reads much more like a story than an article and, while certainly this style does allow more room for story, the informative part is suffering. In fact, I don't really see much information beyond the sidebar discussing the Keepers. I would suggest trimming down a lot of what you have now, as a lot of it is either unnecessary or is repetitive. For instance, this is the opening paragraph of your Clan Origins:

 

+++Segmentum Obscurus+++

+++Unknown Sub-sector+++

+Colonizing Frigate Beneficium+

 

++ In the vastness of space, the cold emptiness lays still and abandoned. Below, the desolate planet that would one day be known as Medusa rotates blissfully, giving no sign of what occurred on her surface just moments ago. The serenity is broken as a transmission breaks through the planet's atmosphere, "This is Captain Jacobo Durand of the Beneficium, we were thrown from the immaterium after being struck by a sudden warp storm, our engines were wrecked and the planets gravity has pulled us down. Over half the crew are dead and the majority of our supplies were scattered or destroyed on impact. This is a distress signal, if anyone is out there please help us!" This message was the stranded crew's last hope for deliverance from the harsh planet's grasp; the message was never received.

 

I would suggest cutting it out entirely, as the following paragraph goes into the ship crashing and whatnot. The previous section, detailing the Iron Hands, already sets the Grimdark mood what with Astartes sawing off their limbs and replacing them with shiny bits. Also, the last two paragraphs of the Post Heresy section could be trimmed and combined as they are only slightly different from each other.

 

The beginning portion of the article is very slow, and while I understand that you want to give background for the mortals who would become Astartes, it leaves me waiting for the Clan to actually show up. I was also surprised to see just how much time you spent on the Pre-Primarch world, but the Post-Primarch and Heresy was basically summed up in three paragraphs. Those events are huge; in the first case, their years of waiting are justified and in the latter case you have them essentially being abandoned again. I can understand your opinion that we know how the Iron Hands dealt with the Heresy and whatnot, but we don't know how Clan Bracchus handled it. Chapters are rarely of one mind and even Astartes within the same Company can have different opinions. Events such as these are a way to highlight how Clan Bracchus differs from the rest of the Iron Hands.

 

The core of the article is going to be Clan Bracchus in the context of their Chapter, so I recommend writing that next. It will be easier to see where you're going with them, and then you can give them a bit of background accordingly. Right now, I count the article as being 2,763 words long and only about 223 of that actually starts to get into the Clan. Again, I strongly suggest talking about their position with the Iron Hands first (as a rough draft) and then you can weave it into an article with appropriate context. I think that will do a lot to get you going in the right direction.

 

Wow! Thanks for the in-depth response!

 

Naturally I see where you are coming from.. I was having trouble dividing myself between factual article and story as I appreciate both forms. My original article, which the Origins I have now replaced, was more encyclopedia-esque, but I found it lacking and somewhat dull, that being said the new version might be too flavorful and not facty enough. Not to mention it is incredibly long. I definitely like what I did with the ancestry of the Clan, I think it makes them more real and gives them depth. That being said I could probably trim the fat a little bit and compress it down more to allow for more room to focus on the core points.

 

What would also help is if we had some insight into what makes each of the clans unique as they stand. As of right now the Clans are little more than names the exist within the greater whole of the Iron Hands.

 

I know I want Bracchus to be focused on smithing, to have ties to the stars, and be run by the keepers. I also know that the next few sections of the articles that cover their behemoth, combat doctrine, and the like will be almost exclusively in the tense of the Astartes of the Clan and the references to the Origin story will be more limited. I will definitely go back and review the work so far and see if I can trim it down and get rid of some of the repetition. I do, however, like the quote at the beginning, I think it really sets the mood for the origin itself. But I will go back and touch up what I can!

 

Thanks for reading!

[Ravenfeld]

Alright, its been an age but I've finally found time to sit back down and get back to this. I have completely rewritten the AI, every square inch (save the IH part at the start) has been reworked. I think this way is far more concise and pointed. I do want to write a longer history of the chapter but I don't know if I want to do it here or in a separate thread but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. There is more to come, just want some insight into whats done so far!

 

Thanks in advance!

Raven

[Ravenfeld]

I notice a lot of people are "viewing" but no one is commenting. While I assume this is a good thing I would love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions. I realize it is lengthy, but I am not making a new chapter, I am trying to make something unique within a larger, more established body and I believe it is all about the details and specifics so I hope you are all enjoying it despite its growth. I do try to keep it concise, just have a lot of ground to cover!

 

Feedback is encouraged! Please let me know!

 

Thank you,

Raven

[Messor]

I admit, sir, that while I've enjoyed this work from afar, since I've first read it I've avoided comment simply because I'll have to confront the fact that my own IH successor is divergent from the historical norm, and for no good reason yet. It was a great read though, and you have indeed attended to every detail! Nice work, and quite an enlightening peek into IH culture.

[Uaronain]

I have to admit I quite enjoyed reading your IA and to fully go over it will require several posts as you went into a lot of detail!

 

I guess I will start with a few questions about the trials.

 

 

1. I don’t understand how you prove loyality to the Clan by killing someone of the clan. I don’t know how it is done? Combat? Just a random murder? What exactly happens? Is it ritual combat, or more of a knife in the dark? What if the one close to you held a vital task to the clan? For example Initiate Bob decides to kill his father someone very important to him. Bob’s father is a skilled or valued member of the clan whose knowledge in some random subject is considered vital to the clan. Bob decided to murder his dad for his void trial, sure he killed someone important to him but that person was more important to the clan and sent them back decades in experience. How does that prove loyalty to the clan by depriving it of a valuable person and weakening it? I always imagined the clans were very rough and tumble sort with medusa being a harsh planet… coupled in the almost constant clan warfare that those who survived would be very valued. I understand the concept in showing no emotion, but having them murder someone of their own clan seems weird to me when everyone considered weak are left to the elements be it children or elderly. I guess in theory it would make the clan stronger as a whole but think of the countless initiates who don’t make it to become a full fledges marine but still manage to kill one of their own?

 

2. How do they force nightmare induction? Is it like a drug induced stance or something else? How do they know what everyone fears, do librarians use mind probes? I am just curious ;)

[Ravenfeld]

I admit, sir, that while I've enjoyed this work from afar, since I've first read it I've avoided comment simply because I'll have to confront the fact that my own IH successor is divergent from the historical norm, and for no good reason yet. It was a great read though, and you have indeed attended to every detail! Nice work, and quite an enlightening peek into IH culture.

 

-- Hey Messor, divergence is good when you're dealing with a successor, its amazing what thousands of years can do to ones outlook! In terms of coming up with a justifiable reason for said divergences, well I would love to help you brain storm on that some time! I am glad you've been enjoying it, my initial goal is to get it all out of my head, then I am going to go back and polish what I have until it shines like polished Iron!

 

I have to admit I quite enjoyed reading your IA and to fully go over it will require several posts as you went into a lot of detail!

 

I guess I will start with a few questions about the trials.

 

 

1. I don’t understand how you prove loyality to the Clan by killing someone of the clan. I don’t know how it is done? Combat? Just a random murder? What exactly happens? Is it ritual combat, or more of a knife in the dark? What if the one close to you held a vital task to the clan? For example Initiate Bob decides to kill his father someone very important to him. Bob’s father is a skilled or valued member of the clan whose knowledge in some random subject is considered vital to the clan. Bob decided to murder his dad for his void trial, sure he killed someone important to him but that person was more important to the clan and sent them back decades in experience. How does that prove loyalty to the clan by depriving it of a valuable person and weakening it? I always imagined the clans were very rough and tumble sort with medusa being a harsh planet… coupled in the almost constant clan warfare that those who survived would be very valued. I understand the concept in showing no emotion, but having them murder someone of their own clan seems weird to me when everyone considered weak are left to the elements be it children or elderly. I guess in theory it would make the clan stronger as a whole but think of the countless initiates who don’t make it to become a full fledges marine but still manage to kill one of their own?

 

2. How do they force nightmare induction? Is it like a drug induced stance or something else? How do they know what everyone fears, do librarians use mind probes? I am just curious ;)

 

I am glad you've enjoyed reading it, as I said to Messor it is most definitely a work in progress and I intend to shift ideas and do a great deal of polishing after I get the deluge of thoughts onto the page.

 

1. It isn't so much proving loyalty for the sake of proving loyalty as proving you are willing to do whatever it takes to enforce the will of the Clan. If you can pass the threshold of emotional attachment you can transcend beyond the need to cling to mortal ideals of love and family and focus on your primary purpose for existing, war. The sacrifice itself is ritualistic and clean, playing out more like a clean execution than a bloody murder or gore soaked arena scene. This sacrifice is made willingly by the loved one in order to strengthen the clan with the induction of a new Astartes (hopefully anyway). In terms of the individual being sacrificed providing a necessary function or being a well of integral knowledge, Clan Bracchus values redundancy in all things, even outside the Clan Company. That being said there would never be -one- individual who was the only person able to perform any specific task. If you can imagine specialists like mechanics, smiths, hunters, cooks, watch makers, or whatever, would all have multiple apprentices and assistants to take over should they perish. Medusa is a harsh and unforgiving planet and the mortal population can drop dramatically under certain circumstances (Say the ice cracks and three crawlers fall through the ice, taking all of your one mechanic with them... well the clan has gone extinct.) so I would think that the clans would be masters of avoiding the "all your eggs in one basket" practice. On a happy, peaceful world where art and song are paramount this might be a problem, but Medusa is so far from that it isn't even on the radar! That is all personal opinion though, hopefully that answers that?

 

-- EDIT: Also, on a planet where food and resources are scarce, sometimes the loss of life in a clan can be a valuable asset. Remember, it is survival of the fittest. The fact that they make the sacrifice willingly is part of the whole honor of the situation too, they get the equivalent of a "burial at sea" in Viking culture, top honors and respect. If the initiate fails to become a neophyte they aren't allowed to simply "return to normal life" where they would have to live with what they had done. They are either modified into servitors (an important position, as all the Clan's vehicles require pilots) so that they may still serve or, in extremely rare circumstances, they might become a clan serf and spend the totality of their mortal life at the side of a specific battle brother.

 

2. Nightmare Induction is a process of psychic invasion, the Librarian pierces the veil of the initiates psyche and probes for their worst fears then pulls them to the forefront of the initiates consciousness, essentially giving them visions of what they fear most. This isn't a surprise practice, the initiates are prepared for the encounter because, if it were a surprise, it could have drastic side-effects on a persons mental state. To use a not so impressive example (and forgive me if you hate the series) but in Harry Potter when Harry faces down the Dementor in the chest, he was aware it was going to happen, but still lacked the stones to face it. I should also point out that these trials don't occur once, like some form of school test, but take years to fully pass through so any one initiate will likely grow through cycles, each nightmare induction session might bring forth a different fear, or perhaps an amplified or altered version of a fear that the initiate perceived as "conquered" only to re-live the terror. I imagine it is a painstaking process of psycho-conditioning that other chapters would have their own methods of tackling.

[Messor]

-- Hey Messor, divergence is good when you're dealing with a successor, its amazing what thousands of years can do to ones outlook! In terms of coming up with a justifiable reason for said divergences, well I would love to help you brain storm on that some time! I am glad you've been enjoying it, my initial goal is to get it all out of my head, then I am going to go back and polish what I have until it shines like polished Iron!

 

Glad to hear it, and it'd be awesome to get some more expert insight!

[BassWave]

Finally had enough time to read your update, and let me just say i'm impressed ::P I especially like the bit about the smouldering, very hardcore ;)

 

Although I have a suggestion over the trial where you kill a loved one. Instead of having the person actually killed, have it be a hallucination caused by a librarian? I can't imagine any medusan clan wasting hard working members of the clan, even if there is redundancy.

[Aqui]

Finally had enough time to read your update, and let me just say i'm impressed ::rolleyes: I especially like the bit about the smouldering, very hardcore ;)

 

Although I have a suggestion over the trial where you kill a loved one. Instead of having the person actually killed, have it be a hallucination caused by a librarian? I can't imagine any medusan clan wasting hard working members of the clan, even if there is redundancy.

 

To add to this, perhaps the the Aspirant has no idea that it's an illusion, and that the choices made by him are measured by both said Librarian and Iron Father (or equivalent) to ascertain their worthiness.

[Ravenfeld]

Finally had enough time to read your update, and let me just say i'm impressed : I especially like the bit about the smouldering, very hardcore

Although I have a suggestion over the trial where you kill a loved one. Instead of having the person actually killed, have it be a hallucination caused by a librarian? I can't imagine any medusan clan wasting hard working members of the clan, even if there is redundancy.

Man oh man is the trial of the void not popular! While I see what you're saying, and while I know the Astartes don't directly interact with their clan after they ascend into the rank, I would think that even a passing glimpse of their loved one would cause any psycho-induction to fail, and that COULD provide a small fracture to allow Chaos to sneak in, eh? Okay silly arguments aside, I don't perceive the Clans of Medusa as being small by any means, I picture massive nomadic caravans with smoke belching land crawlers dragging themselves along the barren earth. If you think about it it isn't like there is millions of people trying to be Astartes at once. I would think that Clan Bracchus would have maybe several hundred aspirants at any particular time, only a handful of which make it to being an Astartes. This number, in the face of the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people in the clan is pithy in the grand scope of things. Thus I argue that the taking of 200 lives in order to ensure a strong willed astartes for the clan is a small sacrifice. On that note, we don't have a solid idea of just how many mortals are in a clan do we? Well just going by the precedent of the Imperium at large I am sure it is substantial! I also want to point out that on a planet where danger lurks around every corner baby production would be at a premium !

To add to this, perhaps the the Aspirant has no idea that it's an illusion, and that the choices made by him are measured by both said Librarian and Iron Father (or equivalent) to ascertain their worthiness.

See I still maintain that essentially lying to someone about them murdering someone they care about could come back to bite you in the butt. Forcing them to perform the deed is harsh, but it allows immediate closure AND it isn't as if they didn't know what they were getting into when they became an aspirant. They likely did it with their families blessing as it is a tremendous honor. Some families in the clan have had their sons become space marines for centuries! In regards to their worthiness being ascertained by the Iron Father and Librarian that is the point of the trials themselves. Each trial involves the scrutiny of one wing of the Clan's command structure, so without the approval of each keeper there is no advancement into the ranks.

I think we are looking at this from the perspective of people who view the idea of slaying a family member as a harsh negative, and it surely is, but in a culture where it has been a way of life for thousands of years its hard to say that it would be "too harsh" instead of simply an accepted fact. Is it brutal, absolutely, is it necessary, perhaps, is it effective, yes. If you can come to terms with loss at the onset you can do what needs to be done when it really counts. Just my opinion of course!

EDIT: Can someone tell me how to add the damn side bars? I used to know how but I have forgotten.. thank you!

[Messor]

Quote me on that :lol:

the emperor protects

For the Emperor

[Ravenfeld]

Quote me on that :lol:

the emperor protects

For the Emperor

 

So simple, its amazing how easy it is to over think something, isn't it?

 

Thank you sir, you are a true scholar,

Raven

[BassWave]

Oh, i'm all for harshness, its wasting that i'm against. However you bring a good point in that clans most likely have a large population, and would not suffer from any "sacrifices" made. Now that I realize this, carry on with the original idea. I do have a question though, is there a specific way in which they perform the killings?

[Ravenfeld]

Oh, i'm all for harshness, its wasting that i'm against. However you bring a good point in that clans most likely have a large population, and would not suffer from any "sacrifices" made. Now that I realize this, carry on with the original idea. I do have a question though, is there a specific way in which they perform the killings?

 

That, my friend, is an excellent question and one i've been mulling over for the last little while. I want it to be a clean death, one that will leave the body intact so that it can receive its burial with honors. But I also want it to be personal and up close. So I think the initiate will be handed a new combat blade which they will drive into the heart of their loved one, killing them almost instantly but putting the aspirant face to face as their cherished person's life drains out and their final breath is taken. I then thought that the combat knife would be the first weapon that the aspirant is given and the one that they will carry for all their days as an Astartes. That way they can be empowered with the knowledge that they are slaying the enemies of the imperium with the weapon that possesses the "soul" of their loved one. What do you think of that?

[BassWave]

I like that idea. So are the targets brought to a room in the training center or is it done on their own home?

[Ravenfeld]

Alright!

 

Back from a festive (and busy) holiday season, now to get back in the saddle!

 

I like that idea. So are the targets brought to a room in the training center or is it done on their own home?

 

I was debating between a public display, hosted on one of the massive land crawlers of the clan and a more private, ritualized ceremony performed in the heart of the Clan's Behemoth. Having the ceremony be done internally has the added benefit that no mortal is allowed to witness its interior and live, so if the initiate failed to perform the trial their loved ones life would be forfeit (as would their own). The benefit of a more public execution is that it involves the whole of the clan and, since it is the clan that is making the sacrifice, I feel they should play a large part of the whole scene. What do you guys think?